The policy stipulates that 1,000 cubic meters of water per capita per year are required as a minimum to prevent the food and health consequences of water scarcity.
Tauheedul Haq, a former Conservator of Forests for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), told the media on Friday that Pakistan was on the verge of a water shortage due to its rapid population growth and, consequently, a threat of food insecurity caused by the rapid melting of glaciers as a result of climate change and global warming issues.
“The majority of the world’s glaciers, excluding the polar regions, are found in Pakistan. Our irrigation network has been heavily reliant on these glaciers, which constantly recharge our irrigated system across all provinces,” he added.
According to the National Water Policy 2018, the amount of surface water available per person has decreased from 5,260 cubic meters per year in 1951 to approximately 1,000 cubic meters in 2016 and was likely to further decrease to approximately 860 cubic meters by 2025, indicating our country’s transition from “water stressed” to “water scarce.”
The policy stipulates that 1,000 cubic meters of water per capita per year are required as a minimum to prevent the food and health consequences of water scarcity.
The current situation emphasizes the importance of rapid development and management of the nation’s water resources, particularly the completion of the Mohmand and Diamir Bhasha dams on a war footing in order to preserve the priceless resources for future generations.
As was the case with the flooding last year, Tauheed warned that the unpredictable and changing precipitation patterns could have serious repercussions, including flash floods in Pakistan‘s north and increasingly protracted droughts in the south.
In addition to raising the risk of glacial lake outburst floods, he predicted that as glaciers recede, more glacial lakes similar to Gilgit Baltistan’s Atabad Lake would form (GLOF). In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, hot weather due to global warming issues, was observed even in March and April, which was not the case decades earlier due to a lack of rain and snowfall, he claimed.
In addition to building new dams, he suggested concentrating on plantation to raise the likelihood of rain and snowfall. “Pakistan’s average annual rainfall ranged from 400 millimeters to 1000 millimeters, while snowfall ranged from about 60 inches and could be increased by bringing more areas under forestry cover, especially in high alpine and glacier zones.”
He claimed that the early onset of summer and the ensuing heat waves cause glaciers to quickly melt, which causes flooding and the waste of fresh water. According to Tauheed, the country’s forestry cover is only about 5%, which is low compared to the international standard of 25%.
By bringing mountainous areas under afforestation through farm forestry and enclosures, Tauheed said, northern Pakistan’s glaciers will melt less quickly.
In order to slow glacier melting during the summer, the KP Forest Department’s spokesman told the media on Friday that tree afforestation in glacier zones was being started through enclosures and farming forestry techniques.
78.93 million saplings will be planted with the help of government departments, NGOs, farmers, the general public, and forest enclosures in Khyber Pakthunkhwa during the spring season. 27.460 million saplings would be sown in Kohat, Peshawar, Hangu, Bannu, DI Khan, Karak, Tank, and Lakki Marwat, 30.190 million in Haripur, Abbottabad, Manshera, Batagram, and Kohistan; and 21.28 million in Swat, Malakanad, Dir Upper, Dir Lower, Chitral, Shangla, and Buner districts.
77,569,444 forest plants and 783,693 ornamental and native species will be distributed among people. 56.277 million plants will be sown through farm forestry and 42.402 million seedlings through farmers.
Pakistan was a unique country with over 7,253 glaciers providing fresh water supplies to millions of people for irrigation, drinking, and industrial purposes. These glaciers were mostly located in the Himalaya, Hindukash, and Karkuram regions of Gilgit Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, providing freshwater to people, agriculturalists, farmers, and industrialists living in those regions and downstream of Pakistan.
These glaciers included 2,253 mighty, medium, and small glaciers, including Baltoro (63 km), Biafo (67 km), and Batura (57 km). Upper Chitral district was blessed with around 500 glaciers, especially at Trichmir mountain ranges.